News from the crypto world

This week started optimistically for the crypto market after a weekend of widespread gains for Bitcoin and the altcoin market. BTC’s price climbed throughout the whole of last week and managed to reach €43,000 on Sunday. It was also a very positive weekend for Ethereum which finally surpassed €3,000. Several altcoins started the week with double-digit percentage gains in the last 7 days, including Cardano (21%), Solana (22%), Dogecoin (16%), Shiba Inu (15%) and Near Protocol (30%). On Monday, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index was at 60/100, the highest since the beginning of the year, and it is now at 55/100 indicating greedy market sentiment. 

The Economic Affairs Committee vs. anonymous crypto payments

This week, the Economic Affairs Committee is set to vote on an amendment on the anti-money laundering (AML) legislation, which is aiming to tackle anonymous crypto payments. Existing legislation requires all transactions higher than €1,000 to be verified, and it seems that the committee wants to eliminate the lower limit and include all crypto payments underneath this umbrella. Lawmakers will also look into regulating private wallets and blocking crypto transfers from Europe to certain jurisdictions which are typically considered “tax havens”. 

Celebs joining the Bored Ape Yacht Club

The pop culture symbol and globally-famous singer Madonna is the latest celebrity to join the Metaverse party. And she joined in style, announcing last week that she now is the owner of Bored Ape No. 4988, a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. Madonna isn’t the only high-profile personality that took a liking to the club: other stars that can boast their own Bored Ape NFTs include Eminem, Jimmy Fallon, Steph Curry and Post Malone. 

News from the stock market

Recent earnings reports:

• BioNTech (BNTX): March 30

• Blackberry (BB): March 31

Stock market performance

The stock market saw a mixed performance last week. Major European indices haven’t been seeing much movement, closing the week with both losses and gains of less than 1%. Asian indices, on the other hand, saw bigger fluctuations, with Nikkei closing the week at almost +5% and SSE at -1.27%. U.S. indices were stalling, with Nasdaq* reporting minor losses at -0.16% and the S&P 500* and Dow Jones closing in the green. 

Apple’s bonus checks arrived early this year 

Meta*, formerly known as Facebook, has been posting countless job openings recently with the majority related to the company’s metaverse dreams. This hasn’t just caught the eyes of job seekers, but also the attention of other tech companies, which are well aware that their current employees might be good fits for the roles. 

Apple* is among companies determined to keep talent in their hub. In fact, Apple is said to be laying out bonuses for up to $200,000 to their employees. The bonuses will be paid in restricted stock units set to vest in four years. This means that the employees will receive full rights to the bonus stock units after only four years, provided they remain at the company. 

Is the US economy heading into a recession?

Analysts are getting increasingly worried and believe another recession is looming for the United States. This belief is supported by a recent change of trend in the Treasury yield curve which has been flattening, which was an indicator right before a recession in the past. With oil prices and interest rates spiking up, the flattening yield curve has given traders one more reason to believe tough times may be ahead, but it all remains speculative.

Check out the price developments of your favourite cryptocurrencies, stocks*, ETFs* and precious metals on our app for iOS and Android or on our web app. Check our Bitpanda Blog and follow our social media channels to always be up to speed. Don’t forget to subscribe to the official Bitpanda YouTube channel for our weekly recaps and video content. 

Disclaimer

This article does not constitute investment advice, nor is it an offer or invitation to purchase any digital assets. 

This article is for general purposes of information only and no representation or warranty, either expressed or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of this article or opinions contained herein. 

*Bitpanda Stocks are contracts replicating an underlying stock or ETF. More information and the PRIIPs key information document (KID) are available at bitpanda.com.